Career talk
by antra
Summary: What do you do after 7 years in the delta quadrant?
1. Chapter 1

Two pairs of eyes met.

„Welcome back. After the Voyager was lost we didn't think we would see you again.

Your cover is still intact as always?"

"Of course, Sir. Nobody suspects me."

A nod.

The deep cover agents of Section 31 were really good, they had to be.

This one before him was a fine example of how good a cover really could be.

Recruited when still in the acadamy the whole persona was ingrained in their psyche by now.

"Congratulations to your promotion."

A new rank for a new part of the game.

"You got your next posting information?"

"Yes."

Starfleet had sent options but Section 31 had already decided and submitted the option. Accepting was just a formality.

The supervisor knew that this would be a posting his agent would enjoy.

With the agent being back after thought lost they wanted to use them for a different purpose then before. Their agent would get far in the fleet, that was never a question.

"You should get back to your family and relax a bit, get used again to the quadrant. We see each other again when you get new orders. The current orders are the same as before."

* * *

The supervisor went away and the agent was alone again.

Tom Paris smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Tom sighed over his PADD. He was tired.

He looked to his daughter and smiled, giving Miral a soft kiss on her baby ridges.

It was so strange to have his own family, this small helpless creature and his fiery B'Elanna.

He didn't think he would ever get that after Section 31 covered the Caldrik Prime disaster up as a pilot error.

With the Section not having immediate plans for him, Tom could concentrate n the next few years.

His new posting was Utopia Planitia, as a test pilot and developer for starships. His first project would be the Delta Flyer, Starfleet was very interested in the Shuttle.

It was a dream assignment.

B'Elanna would work on the Voyager. It was normal for the Chief Engineer to stay with the ship so it wasn't really a surprise.

It was perfect for them, both had postings they loved and both had regular work hours and no deep space assignments that would have been complicated with Miral or even worse, splitting up for a time.

The reason he was tired was his promise to the MHN.

The Doctor had told him not to waste all the hard work he had drilling him in medicine.

Starfleet Medical hadn't really known what to do with Tom at first but they warmed to the idea.

He was the first person to study medicine under a hologram, could his work be accepted like anybody elses?

Admiral Leonard McCoy had said yes and ordered placement tests for him.

With the fleet encouraging it's personal to crosstrain in different fields there were policies for such cases.

He would have shifts at sickbay but it wasn't as if he wasn't used to this.

"Incoming message" beeped the console before him.

He put the PADD down.

"Activate."

The screen changed to the face of Admiral Owen Paris.

"Tom. How are you, B'Elanna and Miral?"

"Very good. thank you."

* * *

Silence.

Owen mustered his son. The change in pips showing his new rank as Lt Commander and the dominantly black gray uniform looked good on Tom.

It still wasn't easy for them to talk.

After the Voyager was lost and he thought his son was dead he reflected on their relationship.

And on his mistakes.

He had just seen the potential and disregarded Toms plans completely. He had even gone as far as meddling with Toms postings behind his back.

Just because Owen and Tom were talking again and the older man realised what he had done didn't make their relationship easy.

Owen had decided to be less the Admiral and more the father he should have been and give Tom all the time he needed.

He didn't even know where his son and daughter-in-law would work.

"Your mother asks you to come over, she wants to see Miral some more. Did B'Elanna and you decide on postings near each other or didn't you?"

'Were will you be?'

The question had not been voiced directly but it was clear.

"B'Elanna stays with the Voyager." No surprise there. "My posting is on Utopia Planitia. Test Pilot."

Owen just nodded.

"I will tell your mother that you will stay here."

* * *

Tom nodded to the screen and saw it change to black.

He didn't have the energy to really think about his relationship with his father.

He had to feed Miral and learn something about the Tellarite digestive tract.

Owen Paris could wait.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

B'Elanna directed the new engineers from the station and guarded the warpcore of the Voyager as if it was her second child.

All the modifications and adjustments they had done in the delta quadrant, with technology from the Borg and whatever else they could find made the system unique, not just engineering, everything, it wasn't possible to just let all these engineers run around hoping nobody would hurt themselves without supervision. And, well, she didn't trust them.

The different science departments of the Federation had salivated over the collected data, and having the people there who encountered all this was a different thing than just the raw data from the 2-way-link.

Some of the former Voyagers had already gone on new assignments like B'Elanna and Tom. Others were still deciding what they wanted to do. It helped that the legalities concerning their status had already been cleared in the Delta quadrant. Granted, Starfleet had thought they would have more time before all this would be relevant, but all field promotions had been accepted, in part there had been promotions, like Lt Kim, and their time on Voyager counted for all those crewmembers who had not gone through regular Starfleet training. Everybody who wanted to stay in the fleet had the opportunity.

For B'Elanna her work as chief engineer was counted as credit for finishing her former academy training.

Some had decided to leave the fleet all together or stay on as a civilian. The first was Mortimer Harren, his feet didn't even touch ground before he was of to Orion I to the Institute of Cosmology.

Chakotay decided on teaching and Seven would work in a civilian capacity as well, the idea of Borg enchanced astrometrics like they had done on the Voyager was a novel approach for the regular fleet. They were still on Voyager, some because this ship was their home and some because after the war they didn't have any other home anymore.

Others were using their leave for recovering and/or reviewing their options. Tuvok for example was on Vulcan with his family, he hadn't decided what he wanted to do yet. Harry Kim was with his parents reacquainting himself and totally unsure where he wanted to go next.

Icheb was getting to know his new home before he started in the academy as a cadet.

Lt. Wildman was on extended leave and Naomi was happy meeting her father.

One of the first things B'Elanna did when they were back had been an inquiry to the klingon ambassador about the whereabouts of one Miral Torres. If she had died she would honour her name and grieve, if she was still alive B'Elanna wanted to meet her, make peace with her, introduce her to Tom and little Miral.

It had been strange for her, she had never lived with other klingons other than her mother all her life, but coming back from the delta she was regarded as a daughter of the empire who brought honour to her clan. At least it would make the search for her mother easier.

A crash.

How did these engineers manage to get injured in this jeffreys tube. What were they even doing in there without a trustworthy warden looking after these airheaded pa'taqs?

Her face changed colour to a darker red teint, giving everybody who had at least some intelligence the warning to leave her direct reach.

* * *

**_I know, seriously, this little chapter for such a long time without updates?_**  
**_What can I say, my muse is a fickle mistress_**


End file.
